On 11 November 2009, the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN) received official funding from the European Commission to implement the "Sexual Awareness for Europe II project", referred to as SAFE II. Across Europe, sexual health and factors affecting the sexual health behavior of young people are often unaddressed or addressed inadequately. Moreover young people are often denied the right to information and youth-friendly services which decreases their access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
Luize Ratniece (Latvia), member of the IPPF EN Youth Network (YSAFE) and youth representative on the SAFE II Steering Committee member said: ¨This project takes in account facts, reality and, wishes of main stakeholders and brings them forward - the young people of the EU who know what is needed. IPPF EN acknowledges young people as social, sexual and political beings as they are, and SAFE II provides a solid opportunity to improve their lives¨ .
According to Vicky Claeys, Regional Director of IPPF EN: "Young people are our present and future and live in an increasingly challenging environment where making decisions is not confined any longer to adults. Young people are perfectly capable to express their needs, desires and dreams and it is up to us to ensure they can make the most of that potential and use it fully to advance their sexual and reproductive health and rights for themselves, their partners and the future generation".
SAFE II project sets out to provide an overall picture of the patterns and trends across the region in order to develop new and innovative ways to reach young people with SRHR information and services, and to inform, support and advance policy development. The project will have a strong, mainstreamed component on youth participation.
In partnership with 14 IPPF EN Member Associations and 10 collaborating partners, IPPF EN will aim to improve the sexual health and rights of young people in Europe on national and regional levels.
The project has 5 main components:
· To increase the adoption and implementation of sound, rights-based policies to protect, promote and ensure the SRHR of young people
· To improve understanding of the determinants of behaviours and practices affecting the SRHR of young people in Europe
· To improve the uptake of good practices aiming to improve the SRHR of young people in Europe
· To increase the commitment and support of a broad range of national and European stakeholders for young people’s SRHR
· To strengthen the involvement and empowerment of young people in Europe in initiatives to address and improve their SRHR.
The SAFE II builds on the momentum and achievements of a previous EC-funded SAFE project implemented by IPPF EN in collaboration with WHO Regional Office for Europe and Lund University (Sweden). The initial SAFE project (2005-2007) revealed the enormous variation of availability and quality of sexuality education across Europe. The SAFE project also highlighted the lack of sufficient or comparable data on young people's sexual health behavior. "Guide for Developing Policies on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Young People in Europe" was one of the deliverables of the project.
If you would like any further information on this project, please contact SAFE II Project Coordinator Ada Dortch (
adortch@ippfen.org), who is based at the IPPF EN Regional Office in Brussels.